U.S.-Backed Militia Terrorises Town

by Charles Clover

Hay Al Ansar, on the outskirts of Najaf in Iraq, was glad to be rid
of Saddam Hussein's Ba'ath party government, when the city was
seized by US forces last week.
But they appear to be just as terrified, if not more so, of their
new rulers - a little-known Iraqi militia backed by the US special
forces and headquartered in a compound nearby.
The Iraqi Coalition of National Unity (ICNU), which appeared in the
city last week riding on US special forces vehicles, has taken to
looting and terrorising their neighbourhood with impunity, according
to most residents. . . .